Saturday, May 23, 2015

A Southland man has admitted accidentally shooting dead his son during a hunting trip to Stewart Island in March.

Stephen
Phillip Long, 61, has pleaded guilty to a charge of careless use of a
firearm causing the death of his 24-year-old son Samuel Phillip Long on
March 23.

Long was wiping away tears in the dock as police prosecutor Phil Berryman read the summary of facts in court on Friday morning.Samuel
Long left the hut they had slept in overnight at 9am on March 23
dressed in camouflage clothing and wearing a camouflage cap and
backpack.

His father left the hut 45 minutes later, also wearing camouflage hunting gear.

He reached an area of bush and saw movement in the bush which he believed were two white-tailed deer.

He
told police he spent two or three minutes confirming this with both the
naked eye and also looking through his rifle scope at different
magnifications to identify the deer, Berryman said. Long also moved to his left and right to clearly identify his target.

He aimed and fired at what he believed was the deer's head and neck from his Tikka 7mm-08 rifle.

"The defendant then walked forward to find he had fatally shot the victim through the head," Berryman said.

The half-brother of a Collinsville teenager shot and killed on Sunday in what was initially considered an accidental shooting has been charged in the boy's death.

Austin Lane Buchanan, 20, is charged with reckless manslaughter in
the death of 13-year-old Eli Luis Estrada. He is being held in the
DeKalb County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Buchanan allegedly shot Estrada with a .38-caliber revolver that
belonged to the boy's grandmother. Estrada was killed in a home on
County Road 51.

DeKalb County District Attorney Mike O'Dell said in a news conference
shortly after 11:30 a.m. Thursday that Buchanan was charged following
additional investigation into Estrada's death. AL.com's news partner WHNT broadcast the O'Dell's remarks in a live stream on its website.

"It is no longer considered an accidental shooting," O'Dell said in the news conference.The prosecutor and DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris declined to go
into details of what led investigators to charge Buchanan, but O'Dell
said that his office had received confidential information that led
detectives to take another look at the shooting.

"It goes way beyond a standard that we would consider accidental," O'Dell said.

A poll released Wednesday by the online pollster YouGov has found
that a plurality of the American public, as well as a majority of
Democrats, support limiting the First Amendment to allow a ban on hate
speech.

The poll,
conducted from May 8-11, asked respondents whether they would support a
law criminalizing “public comments intended to stir up hatred against a
group based on such things as their race, gender, religion, ethnic
origin, or sexual orientation.” Overall, 41 percent of Americans
supported such a laws, while only 38 percent were opposed (22 percent
were unsure).

Among those supporting a ban on hate speech were 51
percent of Democrats, as well as 37 percent of Republicans. The higher
figure for Democrats was driven in large part by the attitudes of black
and Hispanic respondents. Sixty-two percent of blacks favored a ban on
hate speech, as did 50 percent of Hispanics. In contrast, only 36
percent of whites wanted a ban.

YouGov found other significant
demographic divides among respondents. Those age 69 or older were the
most supportive of a hate speech ban, but they were followed by those
aged 18-29, while those of intermediate age were more protective of free
speech. Women and those earning under $40,000 a year were also more
willing to ban hate speech.

A ban on hate speech, if it passes,
would utterly violate the First Amendment as it is currently interpreted
by U.S. courts. The Supreme Court has, among other things, upheld the legality of cross-burning and affirmed the right of the Westboro Baptist Church to
picket funerals and other events with hateful signs. Even hate speech
calling for violence is protected in U.S. law, as long as the advocacy
is general rather than promoting immediate and specific action.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

The Boy Scouts of America recently released a list of approved
activities for their members and have revealed that water gun fights are
prohibited.

The list also makes mention that water balloons must be no larger than a ping-pong ball.According to the 2015 Boy Scout’s Manual, “Pointing any type of
firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized. Water
guns and rubber band guns must only be used to shoot at targets, and eye
protection must be worn.”

The organization’s leaders released a statement on their blog on May 6 explaining why the prohibition is in place.

“Why the rule? A Scouter once told me this explanation I liked quite a
bit: A Scout is kind. What part of pointing a firearm [simulated or
otherwise] at someone is kind?” Bryan Wendell wrote on the website.

As for water balloons, the Boy Scouts of America National Shooting
Manual states that scouts must “use small, biodegradable balloons, and
fill them no larger than a ping-pong ball.”

Along with the new stipulations put in place for water guns and water
balloons, the organization also has a list of other banned items such
as boomerangs, crossbows, potato guns, and marshmallow guns, according
to the Washington Times.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., last Friday introduced the Gun
Show Loophole Closing Act, aimed at ending the “major trafficking
channel” for illegal guns in the country.

The legislation would require that every transfer done at a gun show
would have to pass a check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
National Instant Criminal Background Check System, while funding would
be added to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to
hire investigators specifically to patrol such events in search of
regulatory violations.

“States across the country, including my home state of New York, have
recognized the danger posed by this significant gap in our gun laws
that allows complete strangers to buy and sell guns without the
background check requirements Congress passed in the Brady Bill,” said
Maloney on bill submission last week.

“I’m proud that there is momentum around the country to update our
gun laws and ensure that weapons do not end up in the wrong hands — but
the fact is that we need a federal solution to this national problem,”
the lawmaker contended. “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives has cited gun shows as a ‘major trafficking channel,’ and lax
gun show regulations in one state can allow guns in the hands of
criminals in communities many states away.”

Maloney’s bill was filed Friday as H.R.2380
and currently has some 25 co-sponsors, all from her party. As noted in a
release, the bill would require gun show operators to maintain a
database of all sellers along with identifiable information for
submission to the U.S. Attorney General’s office while establishing a
mandate that all transfers– even private sales, which are currently not
required by the federal government–undergo a background check.

The Nebraska legislature voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to abolish the
death penalty in the state. Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who
supports the death penalty, has promised to veto the measure, although
lawmakers' 32 - 15 vote in its favor would be sufficient to override.

A former Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. pleaded guilty Tuesday to
recklessly endangering another person resulting in the Oct. 1, 2014,
accidental shooting death of 26-year-old state trooper David Kedra.

Richard
Schroeter, 43, of Royersford, entered into an open guilty plea May 19
in front of Judge Garrett Page to five counts of recklessly endangering
another person. Each count is a second degree misdemeanor and carries a
maximum sentence of one to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

There
were five counts of recklessly endangering another person because at
the time of the accidental shooting, there were five troopers, including
Kedra, in the room.

The Kedra family has been critical of the way the district attorney’s
office has handled the case previously saying that District Attorney
Risa Ferman should have charged Schroeter with the more serious charge
of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that calls for more time spent in
prison than recklessly endangering another person.

AmmolandThe Texas state legislature voted 139-0 to reduce the penalty for licensed gun owners who accidentally bring their guns to the airport.

Bringing a gun to the airport under any circumstances is a 3rd degree
felony in Texas, a penalty that one legislator called a “massive
inconvenience.”

Under the new law, CHL holders who are stopped by security will be
allowed to put their guns in their vehicles or check it with their
luggage.

“One of the big arguments is, ‘What if someone is trying
to use it to gauge our security? TSA will record it. If you try it
multiple times during the day, you will be targeted,” said Rep. Drew Springer.

Texas made it a felony to have guns at airports during the 1990s, when the state first started issuing concealed carry licenses.

The law generated national headlines when State Rep. Drew Darby was charged with a felony after trying to take a .38 caliber Ruger pistol through security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2013.

Darby told security that he forgot the handgun was in his bag.

The number of guns confiscated at airports in the United States has reportedly quadrupled in the past decade, from 660 in 2005 to 2,212 this year.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Following a year of high-profile riots and demonstrations, the White
House on Monday moved forward with implementing a ban on transferring
some weapons and military equipment to law enforcement.

The Task Force on 21st Century Policing, a now permanent separate
federal inter-agency working group set up by executive order of
President Barack Obama in January, has released its final report, which the president has ordered placed into effect through the Departments of Justice, Defense and Homeland Security.

Among the list of items now prohibited from being transferred either
from surplus military stocks via the DOD’s 1033 Program or bought
through DHS grants are tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft,
vessels or vehicles of any kind; firearms or ammunition of .50 caliber
or higher, grenade launchers, bayonets and camouflage uniforms.

“The Working Group concluded that a prohibition on acquisition of
such equipment by LEAs [law enforcement agencies] from Federal programs
is appropriate because the substantial risk of misusing or overusing
these items, which are seen as militaristic in nature, could
significantly undermine community trust and may encourage tactics and
behaviors that are inconsistent with the premise of civilian law
enforcement,” reads the report. “These concerns outweigh the Federal
Government’s interest in providing this equipment to address law
enforcement needs (that could not otherwise be fulfilled).”In addition to prohibiting the future transfer of the now-restricted
weapons and equipment, the administration is also seeking to recover
those that are already in the hands of police agencies nationwide.

A 28-year-old Owasso man was critically
wounded when another man accidentally discharged a rifle inside an
apartment early Monday, police said.

Owasso
Deputy Police Chief Jason Woodruff said the man was taken by ambulance
to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa in critical condition.

A
26-year-old man at the apartment told police that he was handling a
.22-caliber rifle when it went off, striking his friend in the head,
Woodruff said.

Once
a police investigation into the shooting is completed, the case will be
submitted to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office to determine
whether criminal charges will be pursued, police said.

WHETHER criminal charges will be pursued???? What could be more criminal than shooting someone in the head?

Eli Estrada was pronounced dead at a home in Collinsville on Sunday after a 911 call was made concerning a shooting at the home.

The
DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said a relative had the gun went it
discharged. After receiving a 911 call, sheriff's deputies and
investigators responded to the home. The boy was taken to the DeKalb
Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy's body was taken to Huntsville for an autopsy at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Yes, by all means let's have an autopsy. And when that's done, and perhaps a lengthy investigation too, we can look at the "relative [who] had the gun went it
discharged [all by itself]. But, since this is Alabama, maybe not.

Authorities Monday continued to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the death of a 9-year-old boy who was accidentally shot by
his older brother.

Around 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, deputies from the Perris Police Department were sent to a home in the 100 block of Metz Road for report of an accidental shooting.

Upon their arrival, officials located the young boy suffering from an
apparent gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
His identity is being withheld pending family notification.

A preliminary investigation revealed the victim’s 14-year-old brother
had accidentally shot him. One of the boys discovered the gun inside a
box, and began to play with it, which led up to the shooting.“The older brother pointed [the gun] at the younger brother, pulled
the trigger and apparently it was loaded,” explained Mayor Daryl Busch.
“He died from the shot.”

It remains unclear if the gun was properly permitted.

At this time, authorities are referring to the incident as a tragic accident, and not a deliberate act.

I wonder why Martinez didn't respond to the ridiculous "inevitable prelude to tyranny" remark. One minute, Cruz was talking about how bad universal background checks are, and smooth as any slick politician, he slid right into total gun confiscations by the tyrannical governments.

It seems Richard Martinez was responding to a different interview with Ted Cruz, in which he used expressions like the 2A is "absolute" and it "trumps" the other amendments. It's pretty misleading of guns-dot-com to link to the wrong interview.

Rival motorcycle gangs turned a local restaurant into a shooting
gallery Sunday afternoon and when the gunfire was over, nine people were
dead and 18 were injured.

Waco police Sunday afternoon, assisted by
Department of Public Safety troopers, police officers from several
cities and deputies from the McLennan County Sheriff's Office were
surrounding the Twin Peaks Restaurant, in the Central Texas Market Place
after several people were reported shot during a rival motorcycle gang
fight.

Police initially said three gangs were involved, but later said factions from at least five gangs took part in the melee.

Police and troopers were in the parking lot
trying to secure the area and protect citizens when a fight broke out
inside the restaurant and spilled into the parking lot.

Swanton said the fight quickly escalated from fists and feet to chains, clubs and knives, then to gunfire. Gang members were shooting at each other and officers at the scene fired their weapons, as well.

Swanton said officers recovered more than 100
weapons from the scene and there were several vehicles that had bullet
holes in them.

On May 12, 2015, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) introduced H.R.
2283 or the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015. According to a
report from The Hill
(full text of the legislation has not been received by the Government
Publishing Office at press time) the bill would require that ammunition
sellers be federally licensed, that online ammunition purchasers show a
photo identification in-person at an “authorized dealer” in order to
take receipt of their orders, and that any purchases of more than 1000
rounds made within five consecutive days be reported to the Attorney
General.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

A laughing teen gunman being hunted on charges of shooting two girls
on a Jacksonville school bus Thursday has been identified as a
16-year-old nomad angry about being spit on as he and two friends
readied to fight some other passengers, police said.

The two 16-year-old victims, one shot through both cheeks and the
other in the back of the head, remained hospitalized in fair condition
Friday.

The Westside attack on a bus carrying students from three alternative
schools occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on 118th Street just outside the
front gate of Ringhaver Park.

Police early Friday afternoon identified the gunman as Edgar Robles,
16, who is charged in arrest warrants with two counts of attempted
murder and one count of throwing a deadly missile. Police were hunting
him citywide and said he is known to live roaming from place to place in
the city, said Sheriff’s Office Director Tom Hackney.

I thought they weren't allowed to use a picture of a minor?

My main question is where did the gun come from. As Baldr always says, every gun in the hands of a kid has to pass through the hands of an adult. I would go even further. Every gun used in a crime started out the legal property of some lawful gun owner. Because these guys enjoy such loose gun laws, and because they are so irresponsible, their guns flow into the criminal world like the mighty Mississippi.

In a scathing critique of ABC's recent report "Young Guns," Dana Loesch stated
that most gun deaths were the result of gang violence; therefore,
America has a gang problem, not a gun problem. Her claim appears to be
supported by sites
positing that "a staggering 80 percent of gun homicides are
gang-related." As it turns out though, not only is her statement
factually incorrect, as the majority of gun deaths are suicides, but there is not a shred of evidence to support her characterization that gangs are the driving force behind firearm violence.

Unfortunately, Dana Loesch's sentiment is shared by many gun
advocates, including the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle
Association, Wayne LaPierre, who, when opposing firearm background
checks said,
"President Obama should be as committed to dealing with the gang
problem that is tormenting honest people in his hometown as he is to
blaming law-abiding gun owners for the acts of psychopathic murderers."

So, do we have a gang problem or a gun problem? Data
collected by the National Gang Center, the government agency
responsible for cataloging gang violence, makes clear that it's the
latter. There were 1,824 gang-related killings in 2011. This total
includes deaths by means other than a gun. The Bureau of Justice
Statistics finds this number to be even lower, identifying a little more than 1,000 gang-related homicides in 2008. In comparison, there were 11,101 homicides and 19,766 suicides committed with firearms in 2011.